Association of Exposure to Biomass Fuels with Occurrence of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease in Rural Western China: A Real-World Nested Case-Control Study

BACKGROUND: This study investigated the potential contribution of biomass fuels exposure to the occurrence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in rural areas of western China. METHODS: We analyzed data collected between October 2017 and October 2018 from a nested case-control study of individuals at least 40 years old in the general population in Mianyang City, Sichuan Province, China. Demographic information was collected using a custom-designed questionnaire, and lung function was measured using spirometry. We used multivariate logistic regression to explore the possible relationship between biomass fuels exposure and COPD, as well as between other potential risk factors and COPD. Bayes’ theorem was used to estimate weights for different COPD risk factors. RESULTS: COPD was newly diagnosed in 500 of the 11398 adults surveyed, corresponding to an incidence of 4.39%. Individuals who were exposed to biomass fuels were at a significantly greater risk of developing COPD than those not exposed (OR 2.58, 95% CI 2.23–3.05). In subgroup analysis, exposure to biomass fuels increased the risk of COPD in men by 1.71 times (95% CI 1.09–2.68) and in women by 2.88 times (95% CI 2.01–3.48), in never-smokers by 2.18 times. Bayesian weights for COPD risk factors were highest for poor kitchen ventilation (W=31.13%) and biomass fuels exposure (W=18.08%). CONCLUSION: Our data indicate that rural Chinese who are exposed to biomass fuels during cooking or heating are at greater risk of developing COPD. Efforts should be made to strengthen the construction of clean energy infrastructure, so as to reduce the use of biomass fuels and thereby help prevent COPD.